Lian Li PC-08 Review (PC-O8)

There is something rather lovely about a PC chassis which uses a mix of metal and glass. The look and feel are just a step above the standard plastic we often see. Then, when the metal used is a brushed aluminium things get even more lovely and that’s what we get to see today in our Lian Li PC-08 Review (PC-O8).

Lian Li PC-08 Review (PC-O8) – Packaging and Bundle

The PC-O8 arrives in a large cardboard box with minimal branding and information on the outside. Inside the case is suspended in foam and wrapped in a plastic bag for protection. Inside the case is a bundle of extras and sat on top is a second box, more on that shortly…

As far as bundled items go we get product documentation, LED strips (always great with glass), power plugs for the fans, clamps, ties and a large selection of screws and bumpers for installing our components.

Lian Li PC-08 Review (PC-O8) – The PC-08 WX

When first unboxing the PC-O8 we find that the front and side are not installed. Instead they can be found protected by lots of polystyrene and wrapped in plastic in that second box we mentioned earlier. Ideal for protection during shipping. The main construction of the PC-O8 is aluminium with a brushed black finish and the dimensions are 341x428x404mm (WxHxD) with a weights of 9.5Kg. Although this is classed as a Mid-Chassis, it can accept boards from Micro-ATX up to E-ATX (322x272mm).

Up on the top surface we find our “front panel” connectivity which is four USB 3.0 ports and 2x 3.5mm audio. These sit alongside the power button. In the above image you can see that the connector area is beneath the surface slightly this is because the top aluminium panel lifts off and beneath it we get access to two filters which can be removed for cleaning. One of which is covered by a removable panel, an optional vent for those who mount cooling fans in the top of the case.

Flipping the PC-O8 upside down we find four rubber feet which lift the case off our desk while keeping it from sliding and round at the back panel there are various vents, a PSU location and eight expansion slots. A set if dials for LED control (Red/Green/Blue) are also found here. As far as factory installed cooling goes, we get three 12cm front fans, one rear 12cm fan in the main chamber and two 12cm fans on our HDD rack.

Looking into the main chamber we can see the aforementioned 12cm fan along with the 8 PCIe slots. Rubber covers are present on the various wiring cut-outs on the main tray and a large CPU backplate cut-out is also present. Two LEDs are also present for power/drive status, internally mounted rather than externally and there is space for two 12cm fans at the top of the case.

Turning the case round we can see the LED control pod, case wiring and HDD cage which is removable. It can accept 6x 3.5″ drives and 2×2.5″ models. The PSU is also installed in this back chamber.

As far as support for components goes, we noted E-ATX boards earlier, we can also install graphics cards up to 370mm, PSUs at 298mm, and CPU Coolers of 170mm without issue. Radiator support is 120×120 in the back, 120×240/120×120 in the top and 120×360, 120×240 or 120×120 at the front. There is also ample room for pump and reservoir in the main chamber.

Lian Li PC-08 Review (PC-O8) – User Experience and Conclusion

Often cases with non-standard designs can make installation awkward or confusing but installing a system in the PC-O8 is a very straightforward process. Drop in the motherboard and GPU/Main components, add the PSU and drives round the back, pass the wiring through the rubber covers and then get that connected along with our cooling solution of choice. We had no issues with installing liquid coolers from corsair along with the liquid cooled AMD Fury X. We put the radiator for that at the back location, moved two of the installed fans to the top location and added the CPU radiator in place of the front fan. As the images above show, there is also more than enough room for a DIY watercooling setup too.

LED installation was easy and we love that Lian Li bundle LED strips and a controller which lets us alter the colour to our needs. With many manufacturers this would be an extra cost/purchase. The only minor design niggle we had was that the HDD cage blocks the CPU backplate so changing coolers means removing the drives…though that is far simpler than removing the whole motherboard/cards etc. Other little design aspects such as the pull off top/side covers, anti-vibration rings and support for multiple USB 3.0 ports are all good design choices.

As far as overall build quality goes, flawless. The glass panels in our sample did need a bit of a clean when we unboxed them but that’s an incredibly minor issue. Every part of the finish on the case was perfect and the glass installed easily. We also love that it was protected in a separate box during shipping, ensuring it arrived in perfect condition.

Performance was also very good. The inclusion of six fans as standard is excellent and there is plenty of flexibility for cooling changes as well as the presence of removable dust filters to keep our build easy to maintain. All of the above means that the PC-O8 wins our Gold Award.

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